Amazon EC2 Security Overview

Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) is a web service that provides secure, resizable compute capacity in the cloud. Security is paramount when operating in the cloud, and AWS provides various tools and features to help secure your EC2 instances.

Security groups act as a virtual firewall for your EC2 instances to control inbound and outbound traffic. You can specify rules based on IP protocol, port number, and source/destination IP address or CIDR block.

Key Features:

• Stateful: If you allow an incoming request, the response is automatically allowed.
• Default Security Group: Each VPC has a default security group.
• Multiple Security Groups: You can assign multiple security groups to an instance.

Example: Creating a Security Group

aws ec2 create-security-group --group-name MySecurityGroup --description "My security group"

Key pairs are used to securely connect to your EC2 instances. A key pair consists of a public key that AWS stores and a private key file that you store.

Key Management:

• Keep your private key secure and never share it.
• You can create a new key pair in the AWS Management Console or using the AWS CLI.

Example: Creating a Key Pair

aws ec2 create-key-pair --key-name MyKeyPair

IAM (Identity and Access Management) roles allow you to define permissions and assign them to EC2 instances, enabling them to perform actions on your behalf.

Benefits of IAM Roles:

• Temporary security credentials: No need to manage keys.
• Granular permissions: Assign specific permissions for each role.
• Easy management: Roles can be easily modified or replaced.

Security Best Practices for EC2:

1. Use the principle of least privilege for IAM roles.
2. Regularly update your EC2 instances and applications.
3. Implement logging and monitoring with AWS CloudTrail and CloudWatch.
4. Restrict access to your instances using security groups.
5. Use Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) for better network isolation.